ProLaw vs Centerbase

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Our analysts compared ProLaw vs Centerbase based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Legal Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

ProLaw Software Tool

Product Basics

ProLaw is an end-to-end solution designed for law firms to streamline and manage different aspects of their businesses. It provides inclusions to coordinate and support the processes of various facets of the firm, including executive, legal, IT and finance. It provides a cover-all integration with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Westlaw court rules and other popular applications to help lawyers build and maintain a productive, profitable practice.

It provides real-time business intelligence on the health of the firm, enabling access to and management of all important processes on the go with the mobile app and online portal. It offers additional modules, such as card processing, e-billing, legal calendar and researching to address the entire matter lifecycle to service clients more efficiently and effectively. It also provides personalized training options to promote firm-wide literacy.
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Centerbase provides a cloud-based end-to-end legal toolkit aimed at enabling mid-sized firms to securely manage practice workflows and improve the client experience. Firms can leverage its billing and payment modules including e-billing, online portal and various payment arrangements to get paid faster. Users can maximize billable hours using remote timekeeping, accessible timesheets and reviewing workbench. It provides comprehensive matter management with configurable workflows, real-time dashboarding and relevant details. Practices can monitor goals, projects, tasks, deadlines, meetings and court dates effortlessly with color-coded calendaring, project management and activity reminders.

Administrators can utilize prebuilt and custom reporting and comprehensive controls to efficiently manage firm operations and make informed decisions. Users can streamline client intake and communication with its secure client portal. It also offers integrated legal and trust accounting modules and robust security.
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$30,000 One-Time
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$59 Monthly
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Product Assistance

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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Improved Profitability: Find the best use of company time and waste fewer resources on repetitive day-to-day tasks using automation. 
  • Built-in Integration: Use Westlaw services for client tasks and directly add cost transactions to bills. 
  • Streamlined Client Service: Stay on top of client obligations and provide prompt service with an up-to-date database of clients, leads and case information. 
  • Rules-Based Calendaring: Efficiently juggle cases across multiple jurisdictions with a legal calendar that automatically calculates deadlines based on Federal and State court rules. 
  • Intuitive File Identification: Locate specific files quickly with the intuitive matter-based search function. 
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  • Stay Connected: Access important case-related information and management tools from any device with an internet connection. 
  • Accessible KPIs: Improve business decisions with the most current information from firm-wide calendar entries and custom reports. 
  • Faster Billing: Increase cash flow with a billing module designed to reduce clicks, deduplicate entries and accelerate invoicing. 
  • Customizability: Use in-house customization tools to appropriately scale the platform according to the firm’s size and maintain relevance in a changing legal landscape. 
  • Flexible Subscription Charges: The role-based pricing structure provides multiple options for interested parties. Add or subtract any applicable licenses and pay only for the integrations and tools required. 
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  • Data Repository: Store and maintain a centrally accessible database of client and lead information. 
  • Conflict Checks: Scan potential clients for possible conflicts of interest before the onboarding process. 
  • Court Docketing and Calendar Management: Synchronize the legal calendar with jurisdictional rules to track deadlines and statutes of limitations. 
  • Case and Matter Management: The centralized database provides instantaneous access to legal documents, matters and contact information. Edit case-related data, appointments and matter information without any hassle. 
  • Time and Expense Management: Simplify the capture of daily activities, maximize the capture of billable time, reclaim client-related expenses, and increase profitability with flexible time and expense tracking options. 
  • Firm-Wide Reporting: Generate preconfigured reports to measure productivity and financial performance. Leverage actionable insights to make swift business decisions. 
  • Contingency Analysis and Disposition: Analyze firm’s financials and client’s net under differing scenarios to prepare flexible settlement strategies. Perform accounting tasks to meet the requirements of contingency-based cases. 
  • Mobile Application: Maintain access to all essential functions while on the move. View, edit and update matter information, track time, save emails, share documents and manage legal calendar remotely with the mobile application. 
  • Firm Reporting: Leverage advanced reporting capabilities to make critical decisions in real time. Build consolidated reports on productivity metrics, client profitability, billings, finances, workflow efficiency, human resources and more. Make edits with the Microsoft toolbar and export reports to Excel with the SSRS Report Builder. 
  • Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with third-party applications to keep all firm data under one environment. Commonly used integrations include Microsoft Outlook, Exchange, HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Copitrak, QuickPayroll and more. 
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  • Billing Management: Digitize the firm’s entire billing cycle. Prepare and approve a single bill with a log of all inline markups. 
    • Client Service: Allow clients to pay bills, view invoices and track payment history via the billing portal. Create an audit trail with .txt eBilling files email multiple invoices at once. 
    • Simple Payments: Provide clients with a single, integrated payment method to settle current charges and/or fill the retainer at the same time. Control payment options and payment methods on a matter-to-matter basis. 
    • Billing Support: Access support for hourly billing, flat fee billing, expense-only billing, project billing, consolidated billing and more. Prepare electronic invoices with the help of UTBMS codes. 
  • Legal Accounting: Set up all firm accounts under a single infrastructure and organize them based on location, matter or practice area. Link checks directly to expense accounts and provide free platform access to the firm CPA. 
    • Vendor Management: Set up automated vendor bills for recurring payments. Enter vendor checks and invoices into the system database and automatically track due dates. 
    • Online Payment: Accept credit card payments securely with the accounting module. Link payments directly to transactions and track client expenses. Eliminate manual data entry and human error. 
    • Trust Accounting: Create and operate multiple trust and IOLTA accounts. Automatically approve payments from invoices and log all trust fund expenses. 
    • Trust Reporting: Run reports to trace the flow of money going in and out of trust and IOLTA accounts. Keep a detailed record of all transactions, receivables and matter expenses. 
  • Time and Expense Tracking: Never miss out on a single minute of billable time with round-the-clock time tracking. Automatically log time spent on client calls and messages as billable hours. 
    • Simple Time Tracking: Track time directly from in-platform applications or external integrations like Microsoft Word or Microsoft Outlook. Enter time while on the move from mobile devices. 
    • Time Entries: Update, edit and sanction time entries at the end of the month. Hold or approve billing based on the case status and merge multiple associated time entries into a single entry. 
    • Rate Tables: Prepare tailored rate tables with built-in date ranges effective all year round. Exempt specific matters and clients from the rate table under special circumstances. 
    • Budgets: Create and track timekeeper budgets for client work. Benchmark staff productivity against firm averages. 
  • Firm Reporting: Generate reports in real time with accounting, billing, productivity, budgeting and compensation data. Group associated reports together and safeguard sensitive information with permission-based access. 
    • Insights: Get detailed insights into aging receivables, profitable clients, staff compensation and productivity, annual budgets, valuable practice areas and more. 
    • Custom Reporting: Run custom reports to highlight specific firm strengths and requirements. Increase stakeholder engagement with detailed spreadsheets and data visualization. 
  • Matter Management: Organize and manage all legal matters from a single dashboard. Track contacts, client information, documents, meetings, deadlines, notes and tasks associated with relevant matters. 
    • Matter Dashboard: Access the matter dashboard for a quick overview of trust balances, WIP, client payment history, ledger, credits, outstanding receivables and more. Prepare matter budgets for individual clients and run reports on fees, expenses and staff productivity. 
    • Matter Layouts: Create matter layouts with customized data fields. Organize matters on the basis of relevant case information. 
    • Matter Automation: Design and integrate matter-specific workflows directly into the platform. Automatically assign tasks and execute the next step in the workflow. Update the firm database, team members and clients with new information. 
  • Calendar Management: Create and track calendar entries in real time with a legal calendar. Toggle between firm-wide and personal views, color code entries and print calendar reports as physical reminders. 
    • Calendar Sync: Design automated calendar entries for recurring meetings and notifications for upcoming events. Connect to the Outlook 365 application for real-time synchronization of calendar entries. 
    • Deadline Management: Steer clear of malpractice claims with the LawToolBox portal. Automatically add jurisdiction-based deadlines and time-based triggers to legal matters. 
  • Client Services: Improve the overall client experience with an efficient intake process, communications module and client portal. 
    • Client Portal: Share messages, calendar entries, documentation and invoices with clients securely via the client portal. 
    • Direct Communication: Communicate with clients via dedicated private lines. Control client access to sensitive information and keep track of their communications with the firm. 
    • Client Intake: Streamline the firm’s client intake process with self-populating contact forms, automated emails and documentation. Schedule tasks and perform conflict checks against client databases. 
    • Reporting: Run reports to track marketing ROI, profitable practice areas and referrals. 
  • Document Management: Manage documents directly from associated matters or from integrated web browsers or applications like Microsoft Word. Access and share legal documentation securely from any device with an internet connection. 
    • Email Management: Store emails to associated matter files in its native .MSG format. Search for specific emails based on subject, content and date sent/received. Integrate with Microsoft Outlook and automatically log any time spent reviewing, sending or editing emails. 
    • Document Tracking: Search for individual documents using multiple data fields. Track changes made across different versions of the same file. 
    • Integrations: Open, edit and save documents with the built-in Centerbase Drive inclusion. Integrate with NetDocuments to seamlessly consolidate documents into workspaces. 
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Product Ranking

#43

among all
Legal Software

#60

among all
Legal Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 141 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 60 reviews
72%
of users recommend this product

ProLaw has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 72% when considering 141 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

92%
of users recommend this product

Centerbase has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 60 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

3.3 (38)
3.8 (2)
3.69 (44)
4.61 (31)
3.7 (43)
4.7 (27)
4.0 (16)
n/a

Awards

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Centerbase stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Customizable: ProLaw's flexibility allows users to tailor the software to their specific needs, including custom fields, reports, and workflows to match individual preferences and firm-specific processes.
Comprehensive Features: ProLaw offers a wide range of features covering various aspects of law practice management, including time tracking, billing, accounting, calendaring, document management, and reporting, providing a centralized platform for managing legal operations.
Integrations: ProLaw integrates with other software applications commonly used in law firms, such as Microsoft Office and QuickBooks, streamlining data exchange and reducing manual data entry.
Scalability: ProLaw is suitable for law firms of all sizes, from solo practitioners to large firms, as it can accommodate growing data volumes and user bases without compromising performance.
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Robust Billing: Centerbase offers advanced billing and accounting features that streamline the process of generating invoices, tracking payments, and managing client accounts.
Streamlined Matter Management: Centerbase provides robust matter management capabilities, allowing law firms to effectively organize case files, track deadlines, and manage client information.
Customizable Workflows: Centerbase allows firms to create customized workflows to automate repetitive tasks, ensuring consistency and efficiency in handling routine processes.
Document Management: Centerbase offers integrated document management features, enabling firms to securely store, organize, and retrieve case-related documents within a centralized system.
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Learning Curve: ProLaw presents a steep learning curve due to its intricate interface and extensive features, often requiring substantial training and ongoing support for users to become proficient.
Customization Challenges: Adapting ProLaw to specific workflows or unique firm requirements can be complex, often necessitating advanced technical expertise or reliance on external consultants, potentially leading to increased implementation costs and delays.
Integration Limitations: Integrating ProLaw with other essential legal software or business applications can pose challenges, potentially hindering data exchange and workflow efficiency, particularly for firms with diverse technology ecosystems.
Reporting Flexibility: Generating customized reports or extracting specific data from ProLaw may require intricate knowledge of the system's reporting tools or necessitate manual data manipulation, potentially impacting efficiency and data analysis capabilities.
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Complex Setup: Centerbase requires significant setup and configuration, demanding more time and resources compared to other cloud-based legal software options.
Limited Client Intake: Users have reported that Centerbase's client intake features are not as robust as desired, potentially slowing down the onboarding process for new clients.
Expensive Support: While Centerbase offers support, it comes at a significant cost of $200 per hour, which can be a deterrent for firms operating on tighter budgets.
Reporting Limitations: Some users have expressed frustration with limitations in Centerbase's reporting capabilities, particularly the inability to customize column headings within specific data sets.
Customer Service Concerns: Several reviews have highlighted concerns about Centerbase's customer service, citing issues such as slow response times, difficulty reaching support staff, and unresolved technical problems.
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If you're a lawyer drowning in paperwork and struggling to keep your firm's finances in order, ProLaw might just be the life raft you need. ProLaw, developed by Thomson Reuters Elite, is a comprehensive legal practice management software that helps law firms of all sizes manage their cases, clients, and finances. It's like having a personal assistant, accountant, and paralegal all rolled into one! ProLaw's strengths lie in its ease of use, comprehensive feature set, and ability to improve efficiency and productivity. Users rave about its intuitive interface and how it streamlines tasks like time tracking, billing, and document management. ProLaw's robust features, including client and contact management, matter management, conflict checking, and document automation, make it a one-stop shop for all your law firm's needs. ProLaw also integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office, which is a major plus for many users. However, ProLaw does have a couple of drawbacks. Its high price tag can be a barrier for smaller firms or solo practitioners, and its lack of integration with certain other software can be frustrating. Despite these shortcomings, ProLaw is still considered one of the top legal practice management software options on the market. So, who is ProLaw best suited for? Law firms with 10 or more members who are looking for a comprehensive, all-in-one solution to manage their practice will find ProLaw to be a valuable asset. It's particularly well-suited for firms that handle a large volume of cases and clients, as it can help them streamline their workflows and improve their bottom line. If you're looking for a software that can help you take your law firm to the next level, ProLaw is definitely worth considering. Just be prepared to invest a significant amount of money upfront.

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Is Centerbase the center of attention when it comes to legal software, or does it strike out? User reviews from the past year reveal a mixed bag. While many users praise Centerbase for its robust customization options, powerful features like automated time capture, and seamless accounting integration, some express concerns about customer service and initial setup complexity. For instance, one user raved about how Centerbase's customizability allowed them to tailor workflows and improve efficiency in identifying and managing projects. Conversely, another user found the customer service, which relies on third-party partners charging $200/hour, to be a significant drawback. What truly sets Centerbase apart is its comprehensive approach to law firm management, encompassing everything from matter management and billing to document automation and workflow customization. This makes it a one-stop shop for firms looking to streamline operations and boost productivity. However, this strength can also be a weakness, as the sheer breadth of features can be overwhelming for smaller firms or solo practitioners who may not need such an extensive suite of tools. In a nutshell, Centerbase is like a Swiss Army knife for law firms – incredibly versatile and powerful, but potentially daunting to use effectively without proper guidance. It's best suited for mid-to-large-sized firms with 5 or more lawyers who can fully utilize its extensive feature set and afford the potentially high support costs. Smaller firms or those seeking a simpler solution might find Centerbase to be overkill.

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